Motorway service area

Motorway service area

In the UK motorway service areas, also known as service stations, are places where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel, rest, or take refreshments. The vast majority of motorway services in the UK are owned by one of three companies: Moto, Welcome Break and RoadChef. Extra are also developing a network of service areas. Only 20 motorway services in the UK remain in the ownership of the Department for Transport and let on 50-year leases to private operating companies.[1] Some service stations also have hotels next to them offering motorists cheap overnight accommodation.

Contents

History

Keele services on the M6 run by Welcome Break in 1996

The first service area in the UK was at Watford Gap on the M1, which opened with the motorway on 2 November 1959.[2] As more service stations opened, the number of operating companies increased, such as Blue Boar, Kenning Motor Group, Pavilion, Take a Break and Esso. Through acquisitions and mergers there are now only four major operators, which has led to concerns about these companies having a monopoly.[3] In an attempt to break this monopoly, the government proposed allowing "mobile fast food vans" to operate at the areas,[4] though this idea has not come about.

In 2007 an AA survey concluded that service areas had improved in the previous three years, but cleanliness and pricing were still major issues.[5]

Opposition towards service areas has grown, with some planning applications being refused, notable examples include Catherine de Barnes on the M42[6] and Kirby Hill on the A1(M),[7] both of which have recently had applications refused. Despite concerns from local residents,[8] the most recent area to open was at Beaconsfield on the M40, opening on 17 March 2009.[9]

Locations

De Lucht Rest Area on the Dutch A2

Initially service areas were located between junctions (on-line sites), having their own entry and exit slip roads with a different site for each direction of travel, though in recent years a shift has been to locate service areas at junction sites, the two most recent openings, Wetherby and Beaconsfield are examples of this, being located at A1(M) junction 46, and M40 junction 2 respectively.

The aerial picture of the Dutch motorway service area de Lucht (alongside) shows the typical layout of an MSA at a on-line site. Many British MSAs have a layout similar to this one though on a larger scale.

In 1992, the system was changed so that the developer became responsible for choosing the site of an MSA, and consequently junction sites immediately became the preferred option as they are cheaper to construct. Following a public consultation in 2007/8, the Department for Transport/Highways Agency announced that new services should be located at on-line sites, unless a junction site is the only possibility.[10]

Pricing and regulations

Food sold at motorway services is notoriously expensive. This is often attributed to the fact that many regulations apply to the areas, which would not be viable to run while charging cheaper prices. Another factor may be that, unlike in other countries, the companies must pay the full cost of constructing the entry and exit slip roads and all other required features for safe access to motorway services, as well as the motorway services facility itself. In other countries, the authority responsible for the highway tends to subsidise these costs on the grounds that these areas are partly a public service to drivers. The leases provide that motorway services must operate 24 hours a day, and the costs of providing utilities and services are high.[11] With very few customers in the early morning, they need to earn the money in other ways.

Under the terms of the lease, motorway services must provide free short-term parking, free 24-hour toilet facilities and adequate provision for the sale of food and fuel 24 hours a day.[11]

Services are prohibited from selling alcohol as this might encourage drink driving.[citation needed] However many now have video game areas and gambling areas with fruit machines and other electronic devices.

Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland has three motorway service areas – initially the National Roads Authority opposed them on the grounds that it preferred to see traffic using existing businesses in bypassed towns, and that the motorway network was not large enough for them anyway.[12] However in 2006 it changed its mind, and the Roads Act 2007 makes provision for a Motorway Service Area Scheme to be made for proposed motorway service areas. The NRA held a competition to determine an operator for the first round of service areas to be opened.[13] Superstop, a consortium consisting of Petrogas (Applegreen) and Tedcastles Oil Products (TOP), won the contract.[14] The first service area, Lusk services, opened on the M1 on 8 September 2010. Castlebellingham services (also on the M1) opened on 29 September 2010, with Enfield services opening shortly after in late 2010.

While other locations for service areas were planned by the NRA, they are unlikely to proceed in the short term due to the economic recession. "No services on motorway" signs have been erected on the M7, M8, and M9. The NRA has stated that it now intends to erect signs to petrol stations off the motorway instead.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Highways Agency - The Highways Agency and Motorway Service Areas in England". Highways.gov.uk. http://www.highways.gov.uk/knowledge/14986.aspx. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  2. ^ "Motorway Services Trivia - M1 Watford Gap". Msatrivia.co.uk. http://www.msatrivia.co.uk/m1watfordg.asp. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  3. ^ Sarah Bridge (2004-02-29). "They run a near monopoly, charge a fortune but can't make money". This is Money. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=323839&in_page_id=2&in_a_source=. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  4. ^ Bamber, David (19 Jun 2001). "Burger vans to sell fast food at M-way services". Telegraph.co.uk. pp. 1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1313627/Burger-vans-to-sell-fast-food-at-M-way-services.html. Retrieved 2009-05-05. 
  5. ^ "Public Affairs : UK motorway service areas improve but at a price". The AA. 2007-07-11. http://www.theaa.com/public_affairs/news/msa-report-2007.html. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  6. ^ "Catney Residents Association - Motorway Service Area". Catney.co.uk. http://www.catney.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=5&Itemid=35. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  7. ^ "www.kirbyhill.org". www.kirbyhill.org. http://www.kirbyhill.org/. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  8. ^ "New MSA could bring Handy Cross-style traffic chaos in Beaconsfield". Bucksfreepress.co.uk. 2006-11-12. http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/1015652.new_msa_could_bring_handy_crossstyle_traffic_chaos_in_beaconsfield/. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  9. ^ "Beaconsfield Motorway Service Area to open tomorrow". Thisislocallondon.co.uk. 2009-03-16. http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/4207300.Beaconsfield_Motorway_Service_Area_to_open_tomorrow/. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  10. ^ Policy on Service Areas and Other Roadside Facilities On Motorways and All-Purpose Trunk Roads in England - the Department for Transport
  11. ^ a b "Why the Prices?". Motorway Services Online. http://motorwayservicesonline.co.uk/misc/prices/. Retrieved 2009-03-22. 
  12. ^ http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0615/roads.html
  13. ^ "News Announcements - National Roads Authority". Nra.ie. http://www.nra.ie/News/NewsAnnouncements/htmltext,10439,en.html. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  14. ^ http://www.nra.ie/News/PressReleases/htmltext,16697,en.html
  15. ^ http://www.herald.ie/national-news/m-way-service-stations-just-three-years-late-2167093.html

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • service area — service areas N COUNT A service area is a place beside a motorway where you can buy petrol and other things, or have a meal. [BRIT] Syn: service station (in AM, use rest area) …   English dictionary

  • service area — service .area n BrE a place on a ↑motorway where you can stop for petrol, food, toilets etc …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • service area — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms service area : singular service area plural service areas British services beside a motorway …   English dictionary

  • service area — noun place on a highway providing garage services and eating and toilet facilities • Hypernyms: ↑topographic point, ↑place, ↑spot * * * noun, pl ⋯ areas [count] chiefly Brit : ↑rest area * * * ˈservice area [service area] …   Useful english dictionary

  • service area — noun A place built alongside a motorway where one can stop to buy fuel, refreshments, and so on. The sign says that the next service area is 12 miles on …   Wiktionary

  • service area — noun Service area is used after these nouns: ↑motorway …   Collocations dictionary

  • service area — noun (C) BrE a place where you can stop on a motorway that has petrol, food, toilets etc …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • Motorway — is a term for both a type of road and a classification or designation. Motorways are high capacity roads designed to carry fast motor traffic safely. In the United Kingdom they are predominantly dual carriageway roads, with a minimum of two lanes …   Wikipedia

  • service — noun 1》 the action or process of serving.     ↘an act of assistance.     ↘a period of employment with a company or organization: he retired after 40 years service.     ↘(often in phrs in or out of service) use for a particular purpose.… …   English new terms dictionary

  • service station — service stations 1) N COUNT A service station is a place that sells things such as petrol, oil, and spare parts. Service stations often sell food, drink, and other goods. 2) N COUNT A service station is a place beside a motorway where where you… …   English dictionary

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